City Of Spirits
by chinoz
Summary: A country was thrown into chaos when an evil sorceress usurped the throne & killed the Queen of Spirits. 16 years later,it's time for the 12 protectors to find the rightful heir, Princess of Spirits,to save the country from destruction. Please R&R.
1. Default Chapter

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Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket & its character. 

A/N: Please read & review. Thank you! Please let me know if I've made any mistakes. This is my 1st attempt at writing FB fanfic. I hope that you will enjoy it! 

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Just Another Girl

Honda Tohru wiped her perspiration with the back of her hand. She had been hard at work since 9 in the morning & she was really tired. The door to the inn opened & she glanced up. 'Not another customer? Kami-sama, I'm really tired by now. It's already way past midnight. Please let this be a person who is asking for directions.'

"Ermm… Sumimase? Are there any spare rooms in here? We would like to be put up here for the night," asked a young man with silky gray hair & beautiful violet eyes. 

Tohru sighed & made her way to the door to welcome the customer. She bowed to her customer & without lifting her head, offered him the rooms. 

"Would you like a double room or a twin room sir? Would you like to have supper delivered to your room?" asked a worn out Tohru. 

"No. I would like to have 2 single rooms & please, no supper for us too. Arigatou Gozaimaz," said the young man smoothly.

"Hai… Please follow me to your rooms," said Tohru, still with her head bowed.

The young man nodded. When they reached the 2nd floor, a small melodious voice piped up, "Ne… Ni-chan, why doesn't she look up at all?" 

Startled, Tohru looked up & turned around. She stared into the violet eyes of the young man. Embarrassed, she quickly apologized. "Gomenasai!" 

"Dai jo bu. I'm sorry that my sister is so rude. Here, she's my sister, Kisa. You may call her Kisa as well," said the young man with a warm smile.

It was then that Tohru noticed a young girl hiding behind the young man. Tohru smiled at the young girl with golden eyes & golden hair. She held out her hand to the small girl. "Hi! Care to be friends? I'm Honda Tohru," said Tohru with a smile. 

"Hi… I'm Kisa, Sohma Kisa," said the small girl shyly. 

"So this pretty girl is Kisa chan. Please, this is your room. This is your key for keeps. You must be very careful ok?" said Tohru with a smile.

Kisa smiled & happily took the key. Although she was very short, she managed to open her door. Happily, she entered her room. The young man smiled & entered his own room. 

'Okasan, that was so weird. His sister is still so young & yet he allows her to be alone in a room' thought Tohru. 'Oh well, it's none of my business,' she yawns, 'finally, I can go to sleep now.' 

The next day, Tohru was up in the morning again. "Hey Tohru chan! Been up all night? You look so tired!" shouted a cheerful voice.

"Uo-chan! Hana chan!" cried Tohru happily. "You are back! How was your trip to the City of Spirits?"

"Enlightening," said Hanajima quietly. "The City of Spirits had been engulfed by woeful spirits ever since Maya had usurped the throne from the rightful heir 16 years ago."

"Shh…," said Tohru & Uotani nervously. "We are forbidden to talk about it," said Tohru cautiously. 

Hanajma nodded. "We will not talk about it then. However, we heard some rumors."

"What rumors?" asked Tohru curiously.

"It seems that the time had come for the 12 protectors of the rightful monarch to begin their search for their Princess of Spirits," said Uotani quietly while glancing around.

"The legendary Princess of Spirits? Only child of the Queen of Spirits?" said Tohru in surprise. "I thought the young princess was already killed?"

"What we had heard is just a rumor of course, we are not sure if this is true. But if this is true, then our country will be saved," said Uotani. 

Tohru nodded. "I have to go & get some groceries for Obasan. Let's talk again tonight." 

Slowly, Tohru walked away, thinking, 'Indeed, our country is in need of the rightful monarch. The people are suffering because the weather has been unpredictable. This is because only the real monarch can pray for the welfare of the people. Usurpers of the throne will only throw this country into imbalance & cause demons to go mad, attacking innocent civilians. Spirits will become restless & harass the living occupants of houses. This has been going on for years. Our prosperity has all but gone.' 

With a sigh, she walked off towards the town, not realizing that she was exuding an aura of royalty.

A/N: I think it's quite obvious who the 12 protectors are & the Princess' identity. How will Kyo fit in? Read on & find out! =)


	2. Out of Nowhere

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Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket & its characters.

A/N: Ok, on with the story!

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Out of Nowhere

Yuki stared at Tohru. He couldn't help it. He was dazzled by her awe inspiring royal aura. It was so strong that he was surprised that he had doubted it the night before. He had thought that he was wrong about her aura when he first met her, since he & Kisa were both tired from their search across the plains. However… 'I'm not wrong about this. Only those of royal blood could have such aura. I must inform the rest of them.'

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door. "Come on in," said Yuki without turning towards the door. Already, he could sense that it was just Kisa. 

"Onii-san, have you validated Tohru chan's aura? Is she the princess?" asked Kisa timidly. Kisa was a shy & quiet child. However, when she met Tohru, she felt at ease immediately. Kisa was still young thus her abilities were limited. She could only sense Tohru's royal aura but could not see it clearly like Yuki had been able to.

Yuki nodded. Kisa clapped her hands with cheer. "Onii-san, we must inform the rest of the guardians immediately!" Again, Yuki nodded. He was frowning at the commoners that Tohru was talking to. 'She can't talk to her friends as freely anymore. She has to be protected. Maya had already started to look for the princess. If we do not hurry, we might lose her. But,' Yuki sighed heavily, 'how in the world are we going to convince that nice girl that she's the future queen & our country's only hope of survival?' 

Yuki turned away from the window when Tohru walked off. He focused his attention on his sister Kisa. Kisa was skipping around the room with glee. Kisa isn't really his sister. However, he loves her to bits. She has an older brother. 'That is as useful as a fat & lazy street cat,' thought Yuki darkly. He dislikes her older brother but adores the young girl. She had lost her parents when she was very young. But then, so had he. 'And heck, with my kind of brother, it's not so much as a blessing. Some kind of blessing he is. I rather be alone,' thought Yuki.

Yuki smiled fondly at Kisa who had turned to look at him. 

On the other hand, crouched on a faraway tree was a rugged looking boy. With his orange hair & fiery red eyes, you would have thought he was highly visible in a sea of green. However, everyone in this city was busy with their little lives to notice the trees. 'They made themselves busy with other stuff to forget about the dismal state Nature had ended up in,' thought the boy in the tree. 

The usurped throne was forgotten. The young princess was forgotten. 

'They even make themselves forget that this country is heading towards disaster. What good are these machines if Nature can't produce any more food? I guess only the farmers that I had talked to understand. They are worried but too frightened to say anything. Anyway, who dares to voice out any complaints now? Nobody! Maya has certainly seen to that,' he thought idly as he looked at the passing crowds for a particular aura.

Just then, he spotted her. A girl with long brown hair, but most importantly, is oozing an unmistakable royal aura! He jumped out of the tree & landed gracefully in front of her. She gave a momentary scream as she was shocked by his presence. Immediately, he covered her mouth. He let her go when she stopped. 

"Who… who are you?" stammered the girl in fright. 

"Gomene princess," said the orange haired boy. He bowed deep to her & introduced himself. "I am Kyo, Sohma Kyo."

"Princess?" muttered the girl confusedly. "I'm sorry, ah… Sohma san, but I think you have mistaken me for someone else. My name is Tohru, Honda Tohru, not princess," said Tohru hesitantly. She was afraid of the weird boy. After all, he did give her a shock that was just short of a heart attack. 

Kyo frowned. 'Shoots, I'm such a fool. She's not going to know that she is a princess. How do I explain her status to her?' he thought dismally to himself. Tohru looked at Kyo with concern when he did not reply her. However, she inched away from him when he frowned. 

'He looks so scary & fierce. I think I better leave now.'

"Sohma san? Gomene," said Tohru apologetically. She bowed to him & said, "I have to go & buy food. Please pardon me for blocking your way. I have to go now. Have a nice day." The last sentence was added in a hurry & she was about to move past him when he reached out & grabbed her hand.

She closed her eyes in fright. She had expected his grip to be hard & tight. However, he was surprisingly gentle. He smiled kindly at her & said, "I'm sorry Tohru chan. May I just call you Tohru chan?" 

Tohru nodded & smiled. 

Kyo smiled & relaxed. "Will you allow me the honor of holding your shopping for you?" he asked politely.

"Oh no, Sohma san, it would be too much of a trouble for you. I'm sure you have some place to go to. You are still looking for your friend, isn't it?" said Tohru anxiously. She didn't want to trouble him. Tohru had already forgiven him for his earlier scare. Tohru had always been nice & forgiving. She was so innocent that had it not been for Uotani & Hanajima, she would have been cheated of her inn several times.

Kyo gave her a reassuring smile & said, "Nay, I'm not looking for anyone. I just mistook you for someone else. So, as a way of apologizing, please allow me to be your escort."

Tohru giggled. "All right. You can be my escort. However, you must be a blind escort. No boy with their sight intact would want to be my escort," she said flippantly.

"Is that so?" asked Kyo sexily. Suddenly, he leaned very close to her & whispered, "Then all the boys in this town must be blind to not notice such a captivating girl like you." He had said that sincerely & she blushed at the close proximity of their bodies & his compliment. 

"I… ah… need to go to the… ah… market. So, ah… let's go now," stammered Tohru nervously.

Kyo smiled kindly at her & said, "Yes, please. I would like that very much. Also, please, it's Kyo Kun or Kyo chan, not Sohma san." He took a step back & she breathed a little easier. They made their way to the market together.

However, 2 hours later…

"Ermm… Kyo Kun… ermm… ah… you are really very popular with cats?" asked Tohru timidly. For the two hours that they had spent in the market, numerous cats had followed them everywhere. One or two had attempted to climb on Kyo. However, he shrugged them off just as quickly. Yet, at the present moment, they were surrounded by about a hundred cats or somewhere close to that number. They were surrounded & could not move on further.

"Damn!" cursed Kyo impatiently. That was why he was hiding up in a tree when he first saw her. It wasn't only because it was easier to spot her. It was also to avoid those horny female cats! Kyo took a deep breath & considered his options. He could simply walk on & ignored those cats but that would take them forever & he didn't want her to be held up because of him. Or he could use his ability… but she might be frightened by his ability. He sneaked a look at her. To his surprise, she wasn't frightened or impatient. She simply smiled at the cats & even tried to hug one of them! 

He cleared his throat & was about to speak when he heard a voice. He had thought that he would never ever hear that voice again in his life. 

"Well, well," said a voice coldly, "who do we have here?"

A/N: Sumimase! I know that I have not updated this fic for a long time. Thank you, Alex, for your kind support. I am really very grateful for your review, since you are the only one who did. *Sobs But I shall be strong & continue to update even if you are the only one reading this. =) I hope you like this chappie as well. =)


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